 Thank you for your support in the recent election. With your help, I was elected to a new four year term in the House of Delegates alongside my colleagues in District 16, Senator Susan Lee, Delegate Ariana Kelly, and Delegate Sara Love. On Election Day, my son and I visited 31 District 16 polling places and spoke with many of you. Although some votes are still being counted, most races in Montgomery County have clear victors. But if you want to monitor any races or see the results, you can visit the Board of Elections website. I now look forward to continuing my work as your Delegate in a new term. Outside of these emails, you can follow my activities on Twitter at @mkorman; Facebook at Marc.Korman.Campaign and, less often, on YouTube. MONTGOMERY COUNTY DELEGATION After four years, I have stepped down as chair of the 24 member Montgomery County House Delegation (our rules have a four year term limit). It was a challenging but rewarding four years as our Delegation navigated COVID-19 while considering over 100 local bills--legislation that only impacts Montgomery County--and advocated for our County's needs. I appreciate the confidence my colleagues placed in me and thanks to the Delegation staff, particularly our administrators Sara, Michelle, and Rebecca. And congratulations to the new leadership, Delegate Palakovich-Carr, Delegate Shetty, Delegate Stewart, and Delegate Qi. The Montgomery County Delegation's work for the 2023 legislative session is beginning. Local legislation will soon be posted to montgomerycountydelegation.com and local bill hearings will be on December 8 and 15. You can watch our recent joint priorities hearing here.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE As House Chair of the Spending Affordability Committee, I presided over our recent annual overview of the Maryland economy and budget. You can read the presentation we reviewed here. TRANSPORTATION UPDATE The District 16 Team and Councilman Friedson have been meeting with the State Highway Administration regarding River Road regularly since the death of Sarah Langenkamp, who was killed while riding in one of the painted River Road bike lanes. The State Highway Administration recently provided us the below update on their current activities. In short, at our request, SHA has begun a needs analysis which will identify safety improvements that can be implemented in this corridor. Additionally, SHA is evaluating near-term improvements such as a potential speed limit reduction, signing upgrades and pavement marking upgrades to improve cyclist safety. The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) would like to thank you for your close coordination. At this time, we are writing to provide you an update of our efforts along the corridor following our recent discussions. The Montgomery County Department of Police – Collision Reconstruction Unit (MCP – CRU) is currently investigating the fatal bicycle-involved collision that occurred on 8/25/2022, along MD 190 north of Little Falls Pkwy. While the MCP – CRU investigation is ongoing, the MDOT SHA District 3 Traffic office is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the engineering conditions that were present along MD 190 at the time of the fatal crash. Our office typically performs such evaluations for any pedestrian/bicycle fatal crash that occurs along a State-owned roadway. The evaluation would consider the findings of the MCP investigation when it is completed and made publicly available on our MDOT SHA link at https://mdot-sha-fatal-crash-evaluation-maryland.hub.arcgis.com/. The MDOT SHA’s Office of Planning and Preliminary Engineering (OPPE), in consultation with MDOT SHA’s District 3 office, has initiated a comprehensive needs analysis for the MD 190 corridor between Springfield Drive to Little Falls Parkway. This needs analysis will outline a multimodal vision for the corridor by identifying strategies to address pedestrian and bicycle network needs, enhance safety, and improve travel conditions in the corridor. It will also provide a road map to deliver improvements based on MDOT SHA’s Context Driven - Access & Mobility for All Users guide, a planning and design resource centered on establishing safe and effective multimodal transportation systems. Context Driven weighs the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers in the context of the surrounding environment and targets strategies that overcome deficiencies and improve safety and mobility. We anticipate the needs analysis being available later this winter. As MDOT SHA’s comprehensive needs analysis progresses forward, the MDOT SHA District Three Office is currently evaluating several near-term improvement opportunities within the existing roadway footprint to enhance bicycle and pedestrian safety along the MD 190 corridor from Springfield Drive to Little Falls Parkway, such as a potential speed limit reduction, signing upgrades, pavement marking upgrades, and vertical delineation to reduce conflicts between turning motorists and bicyclists. We anticipate completing our review of corridor wide enhancements before year’s end and will share the results of our efforts when completed. We also encourage continued feedback from community members, residents, and local stakeholders regarding potential enhancements to the corridor. Thank you again for your continued partnership with MDOT SHA and support for our pedestrian and bicycle safety initiatives in Montgomery County. ----- The Purple Line construction contractor recently began a multi-year pedestrian detour on Wisconsin Avenue. The pedestrian access is diverted on the west side of Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street and will last several years as the Purple Line shaft down to the Red Line station is completed. I had a long meeting with the contractor about finding some way to keep pedestrian access open--as the building constructed just to the north was able to do--but they could not figure out a way because they need a building and crane there plus access to the site to take out excavated material. And speaking of the Purple Line, the Maryland General Assembly--through my budget subcommittee--requires the Maryland Transit Administration to provide bimonthly status reports on the Purple Line's progress. The most recent update is available here. ----- Maryland Auto Insurance is the state-backed auto-insurer of last resort. During the past legislative session, I worked with my colleague Senator McCray to allow Maryland Auto to offer more flexible installment plans to improve access to its insurance products and ensure more Marylanders are driving with the required insurance. You can read about the launch of the new plans here. COMMUNITY NEWS
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